


Records and Pickup Lines

by Frenchpadfoot



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: alternative universe, nonbinary Sirius, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-04-28 12:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5090126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchpadfoot/pseuds/Frenchpadfoot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hipster Remus works in a classy records shop in bustling Soho and punk rock Sirius has a late lunch break and needs a record. We all know where this is going.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sirius pushed through the heavy set of glass doors into the record shop that was located in the middle of SoHo. The place looked deserted, probably due to the fact that it wasn't rush hour. Sirius grinned smugly. This is why they liked taking late lunches.  


They needed the new record from Metallica, their favourite band, and this would be the only time they could come and get it. Sirius wandered around the shop for a few minutes, enjoying the still, almost serene quiet of the record shop beneath the blare of music through their headphones and admiring the simple aesthetic of the faded records and peeling shelves as they looked for anything new. They had just begun earnestly searching for the Metallica record when they felt someone poke their shoulder. Sirius pulled their headphones out and turned around, only to take a hasty step back when they were met with clear golden eyes framed by thick-rimmed black glasses.

“Good afternoon, could I help you search for anything?" The young employee looked around their age but was at least four inches taller, and there was an amused sparkle in his eyes as he smiled brightly. He was wearing a faded Pink Floyd t-shirt over a pair of torn jeans _that were just a shade too tight,_ Sirius couldn’t help but notice. Their eyes roved back up to the tawny curls that were tucked under a grey woolen beanie, then back down past the eyes to the soft, bitten pink lips that - 

The man cleared his throat, and Sirius felt their entire face burn as their eyes snapped back to meet the golden ones that looked _\- smug bastard -_ much too self-satisfied for Sirius’ liking. Sirius wondered just how appreciative their up-and-down of the man had been, and when the man smirked, they felt their flush deepen and cursed inwardly. 

“Uh, yeah, I’m - I’m looking for the new Metallica record.” Sirius muttered, their eyes dropping to the drab beige carpet. 

They thought they heard a derisive snort, and Sirius felt a wave of defensiveness rise as their gaze flew up again, but the man was only smirking, his eyes mockingly guileless as he nodded and spoke smoothly. “Certainly. Follow me, I'll find it for you." 

Sirius forced their eyes to lock on the back of the man’s beanie as he wove between the shelves, determined not to stare at the man’s tight-jeans-covered arse. They felt certain the man was swaying his hips intentionally, leaning around shelves as headed for the back of the store. Sirius ground their teeth, their gaze resolutely on the man’s head, flicking down occasionally even as they cursed inwardly. It was _quite_ the view, Sirius thought almost defensively. The man stopped at a table, bending forward over it to reach for an album near the middle, and Sirius thought their heart had stuttered to a stop in their chest for a moment. They looked away so quickly their neck cricked, but Sirius knew their face must be bright red and could feel it blazing. _Crushing twelve year old you are, Black,_ they cursed angrily, willing the blush away.

"You're in luck,” The man said, and Sirius turned with a glare at the suppressed laughter in his voice. _Yup,_ they fumed. _Definitely on purpose._ "It’s the last one in stock." He handed a record to Sirius with a broad grin plastered on his face, his eyes wide and innocent as though he hadn’t just put on a show. _Remus,_ Sirius snarled in their head, noticing the small silver name tag as they hurriedly swept away from the man to look at the merchandise against the back wall. Sirius browsed slowly, definitely _not_ avoiding the attractive salesman who had so smugly flustered them with the first smile.

Surely all that smiling had to hurt, Sirius thought bitterly. It had to be in the staff guidelines, making customers feel more "welcome" and all that bullshit. _Or,_ thought Sirius snidely, this man was definitely tripping on something. When they couldn’t avoid it any longer, Sirius gathered their purchases and went to the front desk.

Remus’ grin lit up as Sirius approached the till, and it remained just as wide as he rung up Sirius' records and the few other tapes they had decided to buy. "Your total will be £27.99." _That grin has to be hurting his face,_ Sirius mused as they counted out and handed him the money absently, _not_ blushing as their hands brushed briefly. 

“That’s a really good record,” Remus remarked casually once he had finished bagging Sirius’ items, and Sirius forced their gaze up from where they had been tracking the movements of Remus’ long, thin fingers that moved nimbly and quickly.

Sirius snorted derisively. Remus raised a questioning eyebrow, the smile fading for the first time since Sirius arrived at the shop.

“Good to see you can identify more than just trashy music,” Sirius explained, glancing down at the Pink Floyd shirt. Remus’ shining eyes widened, but the words were out of Sirius’ mouth before they had time to process them. Sirius’ own eyes widened, and they mentally kicked themself. _Way to show what a snob **you** are, Black, _ even as they stammered rapid apologies.

Remus looked down at his shirt and gave a slow smirk, seemingly enjoying Sirius’ discomfort and stuttering apologies. Sirius flushed as they petered off, Remus’ eyes still glinting with _amusement, the bastard._ They hesitated as they pulled their bag of purchases towards them, hefting it in their hand and shifting in place. Sirius heard a chuckle, and looked up to see Remus’ smirk had faded into a coy smile.

"Hey, care to answer a survey of this shop's assistance?" Remus asked, tugging his beanie off and running a hand through his curly hair and _that hair and his long, thin fingers,_ Sirius thought wistfully.

"Sure." Sirius said, wincing when it seemed to come out too eagerly, too quickly.

"Alright, on a scale of one to ten, one being absolutely terrible and ten being the best shop service you've ever received, how good was our service?" Remus flashed another bright grin at them and Sirius reluctantly acknowledged to themself how much they were relishing that smile.

Sirius pretended to contemplate their answer, humming thoughtfully and drawing a low, deep chuckle from Remus that seemed to coil something in their chest. "Nine." Sirius said finally, flashing Remus a grin in return.

"Decent.” Remus said lightly, and his eyes seemed to gleam as he leaned forward on the counter towards Sirius, his smile slow in spreading across his face. “And on a scale of one to America, how free are you this weekend?"

Sirius was stunned for a moment, then threw their head back in a bark of laughter. "D-did you actually - _actually_ just use a - a pickup line on me?" Sirius asked incredulously, still laughing.

Remus licked his bottom lip and caught it between his teeth, a small smirk playing on his face and a challenge in his eyes, and Sirius felt their chest sear, their heart pounding loudly. "Well, did it work?" 


	2. Chapter 2

Remus knelt by the boxes, slitting them open quickly before tucking his pocket knife away, again, pulling the records out quickly and stacking them efficiently on the table beside him. He glanced across the silent shop, resisting the urge to check the clock for the fourth time since he had closed up. His foot was tapping impatiently as he began sorting through the records to set them out. He couldn’t be late for this, he thought absently as he methodically stacked the albums by category and began to move around the shop, navigating around the cluttered tables with ease, his mind far away, whirling with thoughts of gleaming grey eyes appreciatively roving up and down, and pale cheeks slowly reddening with a blush, and an incredulous bark of laughter.

  
He made his way back to the till, flattening the boxes and leaning them against the side of the counter for recycling later. He scanned the shop critically, checking to make sure all the records were neatly stacked and that the merchandise on the walls was all tidily organized. He groaned with frustration as he noticed one lopsided poster rolled up against the wall, but he wove his way through the shelves toward it. Knowing his uptight manager, Lucius would definitely comment on it passive aggressively in the morning. He was just leaning down to pick it up when a deep, familiar voice sounded from remarked slyly, “Not minding the view.”

  
Remus startled, slamming his head against the shelf and dropping the poster to the ground as his hands flew to clutch the top of his head. He turned slowly, vision swimming blearily, and saw Sirius hurrying forward, his face red again and a stream of mixed curses and apologies stammering from his lips, which were painted a distractingly vivid shade of crimson. Remus took a moment, despite his throbbing head, to appreciate the torn skinny jeans tucked into heavy combat boots, the tight Led Zeppelin t-shirt he could see beneath the black leather jacket, and the way the elegant black hair fluttered against his face as he dodged the tables and shelves and knelt down beside him, his eyes wide with concern, apologies and curses fading away as Remus lifted a hand. They were silent for a moment, Sirius twisting his hands together and Remus still rubbing his head as it cleared.

  
“Are you okay?” Sirius murmured, a hand hovering as if unsure whether his touch would be welcome, and Remus felt a rush of affection as he carefully schooled his expression into a mournful one, meeting Sirius’ gaze squarely as he responded with a straight face.

  
“You really don’t have to knock me over, I’ve already fallen for you.”

  
Sirius’ eyes widened for a moment, and he snapped back, stunned. Then he threw his head back, his laughter echoing around the empty shop, and Remus grinned, feeling a burst of triumph at the light pink that coloured Sirius’ cheeks and the genuine amusement he could see shining in his eyes.

  
“You’re too much, Remus, where do you find these lines?” Sirius chuckled, and Remus shrugged, leaning over to pick up the poster and straighten it and fighting to hide his grin as Sirius’ eyes shot away and then back down.

  
Remus stood, tugging his beanie off and running one hand through his hair to make sure the collision with the shelf hadn’t raised a lump, then flashed Sirius a grin to stop the stammered apologies, but Sirius’ gleaming eyes were tracing Remus’ fingers as they slipped through his curls.

  
“Hey, the evening can only go up from here then, eh?” Remus smirked at the blush as Sirius’ eyes jumped to meet his, and inside he felt a shiver of delight at the way the pink was so quick to darken the man’s cheeks, the way his eyes brightened with embarrassment, the light quirk of his lips and the way he seemed to bite his tongue.

  
“So, Le Mort Eateries? How far a walk?” Remus said as Sirius followed him to the counter to pick up his keys. There was silence for a moment, and he glanced up from where he had crouched behind the counter to root through the drawer to see Sirius shifting from foot to foot, his hands fidgeting with the edge of the till. He tilted his head, looking up at Sirius patiently, his gaze sharpening as Sirius bit his lip for a moment, then asked, without looking at Remus, “Can I ask why you - er… Why did you - er, never mind, forget it.”

  
Remus straightened, his keys in his hand, and met Sirius’ gaze over the counter. He softened his voice and smile as he asked. “Go on then.”

  
Sirius smiled softly for a moment before his gaze dropped again to where his hands were twisting together, and Remus took a moment to admire the smooth coating of grey nail polish that drew his attention back up to the ever-shifting light grey of Sirius’ eyes that seemed to darken around the pupils to a smoky darkness that made something stir in Remus’ chest. He pulled his focus back to Sirius’ words as the man quickly asked, “I just wondered what made you ask me out.” Remus raised an eyebrow and a less than decent smirk had only just begun spreading across his face when Sirius shot him a mock glare and interrupted. “Not like that! I just meant, out of all the customers… I mean, _if_ I was, um, checking you out, then… I mean it must happen a lot, so -” But Remus was already grinning sincerely as he interrupted.

  
“That’s the thing, Sirius, it doesn’t happen at all! Everyone who comes through this shop seems to be some level of trashy, that or ridiculously rich, smarmy bastards from the upper class who would sooner spit on me than chat me up. So when I saw you, of course I was gonna think, I _have_ to land him, I mean I-”

  
“Them.” Sirius blurted, then flushed, his shoulders tensing as he hurriedly continued. “I identify as they/them.” Sirius’ shoulders hunched in further as though anticipating a blow, their hands twisting together as they bit their lip and dropped their eyes to the table beside them.

  
Remus felt a rush of protectiveness and warmth towards Sirius as he reached out a hand to tap their arm, waiting patiently for their eye contact. The moment Sirius looked up, Remus nodded an apology with a grin and continued, his ramble gliding on without missing a beat. “So yeah, of course I was gonna think, I _have_ to land them, I mean the bun would honestly probably have been enough right away but then you come in and browse through the classic rock section wearing those killer boots, and then that smile with the shade of whatever you had on your lips that day, your _complete_ lack of subtlety in checking me out and that _adorable_ blush, of course-”

  
“Wait!” Sirius barked, the infamous blush rising in their cheeks again, deepening as Remus pointed it out with a smirk. “I didn’t - I wasn’t - what lack of subtlety, _you_ hit on _me_!” They spluttered indignantly.

  
“Well after you checked me out me out that obviously, how could I not?” Remus smirked at them, thoroughly enjoying the flaming cheeks and their stammering.

  
“I- I..” Sirius attempted and heaved a defeated sigh “how could _I_ not?”

  
Remus’ triumphant expression faltered for a moment, then he beamed.

  
The walk to the restaurant was short and pleasant, Remus keeping Sirius talking, whether about themself or about their music taste, but the conversation was light and comfortable. Remus chided himself for the fluttering feeling that he could see spending hours and hours with Sirius, that he could - he cut off his line of thinking as they reached the restaurant, which he had never bothered to patron before as it looked overly posh for his rather cheap taste.

  
Remus graciously pulled the massive blue doors open, waving Sirius on with a nod and then making sure Sirius caught the appreciative glance as they walked in ahead. Sirius rolled their eyes, muttering a “thank you” even as they looked away.

  
“Table for two? Right this - Oh.”

  
Remus tore his gaze from Sirius’ and noticed the waiter standing a few feet away, a delighted grin spreading across his face as he stared openly at Sirius. For a moment, Remus felt a slight pulse of uncertainty, a twinge of jealousy. Then Sirius let out a groan and stomped up to ring the bell of the desk loudly.

  
“We need another waiter! This one won’t do!” Sirius called loudly. Remus’ eyes widened, and he looked quickly at the waiter, who had seemed friendly enough, and was startled to see he was laughing, sauntering over to sling an arm around Sirius.

  
“Nice try, Sirius, but there’s no one else working non-smoking and you _know_ the patches haven’t been completely curbing your cravings-”

  
“Shut up!” Sirius snapped, and Remus, now standing at the desk beside them, tugged on their sleeve and raised a questioning eyebrow. Sirius sighed heavily as they turned, waving an arm between them. “Remus, this is Peter, who is going to nose out and not bother us at all during our evening. Peter, this is Remus, my _date_ for tonight.”

  
Peter seemed to have been waiting for that word, letting out a triumphant crow as he openly eyed Remus up and down and gave Sirius what he seemed to think was a subtle thumbs up. Sirius growled, and Remus quickly stepped between them and grinned at Peter.

  
"Nice to meet you." He nodded politely. Peter's grin widened as he grabbed two menus and turned to lead them into the restaurant.

  
"Right this way!" Sirius snorted and rolled their eyes again, their face slightly pink as they followed Peter, but Remus noticed some of the nervous energy had fallen away and that their hands were no longer twisting together.

  
Sirius and Remus followed Peter to a quiet corner at the back of the restaurant, and Remus stepped around Peter to pull out Sirius' chair and grin at them.

  
"What a gentleman," Sirius shot with a smirk, and Remus relished the light blush that crept into their cheeks.

  
As Remus took the seat across from Sirius, he caught Peter waggling his eyebrows at Sirius, and he saw Sirius’ eyes light with a twinge of fondness even as they shot him a glare.

  
As Peter handed them the menus, Remus reached into his bag and pushed his glasses on, and Sirius’ eyes widened for a moment, their mouth dropping open slightly. Their cheeks had only reddened slightly when they groaned, laughter in their eyes. "Hipster glasses. I cannot believe I'm on a date with a hipster.”

  
"Oh, it's a date now, is it?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow, examining the menu in front of him and glancing up to make sure Sirius had understood his joking tone.

  
"Er- um, I mean... I thought so, and -" Sirius stuttered. and Remus felt a sudden rush of affection towards Sirius, along with the urge to reach out and stroke the flushed cheeks.

  
"I'm only joking, love, this is totally a date," Remus winked, a thrill of success as Sirius flushed a deeper shade of pink "also, 'm not a bloody hipster," Remus mumbled under his breath.

  
"Oh please," Sirius scoffed, looking up from his menu, "you're the image of hipsters in the hipster guidelines.” Now it was Sirius’ turn to smirk, and Remus’ eyes widened slightly as he made a mental note to try to see that smirk more often because it certainly suited the aristocratic cheekbones and the gleaming grey eyes and dark eyelashes that seemed to lower as they blushed and those _lips_ -

  
“Anything to drink for the lovely couple?” Peter had returned, and Remus startled from his gaze, Sirius glancing up from their menu without catching Remus’ staring as they glared at Peter’s broad grin.

  
“Just water for me, thank you.” Remus smiled, and Sirius nodded with a hissed “and me, now sod off.” Remus worried for a moment that Peter might be offended at the rudeness or dismissal, but he was beaming as he bounced away, only to return a few moments later to snigger through taking their orders and later to grin meaningfully at Sirius when they brushed Remus’ hand reaching for the dessert menu.

  
Remus found himself comforted by Peter’s almost constant presence during their dinner, the way the almost imperceptible tension in Sirius’ shoulders would ease even as they snapped at him. When Sirius insisted on paying the tab after a hefty entree and savory dessert, Remus used it to guarantee a promise from Sirius to allow him to cover their next date. It was a when, not an if.

  
Their shadows were wavering along the sidewalk in the dull yellow light of the streetlamps as Remus and Sirius walked beside each other, Remus holding Sirius' jacket draped over one arm. "Which line are you catching?" Remus asked.

  
"I don’t live far from here, a fifteen minute walk or I could take District to Kensington.” Sirius stepped closer to Remus as the pavement narrowed. “What about you?"  
"I live here actually, I'll just walk. Kensington though? Rich boy?"

  
"Boy? Hmm, not quite." Sirius said, correcting Remus with a teasing grin, and they waved off Remus’ fervent apology with a sincere smile. "Not rich though, dumb family is all," Sirius explained.

  
"Rich dumb family?" Remus questioned.

  
"Rich dumb family that I have absolutely no contact with.” Sirius said firmly, but their eyes darkened for a moment, and Remus gave in to the urge and reached out to brush a loose strand of hair back from their face, smiling to himself as Sirius shivered before they asked. “What about you? What's your family like?"

  
"Wild," Remus chuckled "quite the weird bunch. We're quite close though, which is nice at times." He smiled, deep in thought and memories. He was startled at a poke on his cheek, and turned to see Sirius grinning, their finger poking into Remus’ cheek again. “Dimples,” Sirius said happily.

  
Remus laughed at Sirius' enjoyment, shaking his head. “You’re so odd.”

  
"No one’s ever done that?" Sirius asked incredulously, furrowing their brows.

  
"Well... I don't exactly like people touching my face," Remus shrugged.

  
"Oh, I'm sor-"

  
"No, no, you're fine," Remus waved their apology away with a smile, "if I didn't want you to I would've said."

  
"So you _want_ me to touch your face?" Sirius' eyebrows shot up.

  
"Not the only thing I want you to touch," Remus smirked, earning a groan from Sirius even as they flushed deeply.

  
The station was quiet and empty when they arrived, the light breeze cool on their skin and gently fluttering through Sirius’ hair.

  
"I'll go down with you," Remus said, rooting in his bag to pull out his blue Oyster card holder.

  
"Oh, are you sure? You don't have to." Sirius said, pulling their own card out. Their case depicted the Mystery Shack of Gravity Falls, and Remus raised amused eyebrows.

"My little cousin gave me it." Sirius explained hastily.

  
"Sure, your _cousin_ did." Remus teased.

  
"She did!" Sirius insisted, and Remus fought a grin as they headed in to wait.

 

"And then James, my other best mate, runs out, and we're running down the hallways, flying around every corner,” Sirius’ hands waved through the air as they laughed through their story, and their grey eyes seemed to light from deep within. “And mind you, I knew these two gits for a week when this happened, and we run _face first_ into McGonagall. I’m pretty sure that's when she first decided she hated us." Sirius said self-satisfiedly, and Remus felt a warmth at the passion evident in Sirius’ voice as they talked about their friends. They had taken a seat on a bench together, and they’d been waiting for Sirius' train for ten minutes, the next one due in three.

  
"So what happened next?" Remus urged, chuckling at Sirius' story.

  
"Well, James has bright pink hands and then Lucius comes stomping out of his dorm absolutely _livid_ , and his hair is bright neon pink. Now, McGonagall is a bright woman and can put two and two together."

  
Remus doubled over, laughing uncontrollably, and he saw out of the corner of his eye as Sirius’ bite their lip and smiled. He couldn’t help the rush of warmth that coiled through his chest in that moment. He wanted time to slow down, to stop, to give him this moment for just a bit longer. He didn’t want the train now due in two minutes to come at all. He straightened slowly, leaning towards Sirius as he reached out a hand slowly, taking Sirius' hand and lacing their fingers together. He felt like a schoolboy again, sparks racing through his fingertips as Sirius’ cold fingers curled tightly around his.

  
"My boss is named Lucius," Remus said after a few seconds of warm silence, "a right pain, he is."

  
"Ha, is-" But Sirius was cut off by the intercom.

  
"The next train to Edgware Road will arrive in one minute. Please be aware of pickpockets and care for your personal belongings. Thank you for choosing TFL."

  
Remus sighed and ran his free hand through the curls in his hair, squeezing Sirius' hand lightly.

  
"We could… can we wait for the next one?" Sirius asked quietly.

  
Remus felt a rush of happiness, then hesitated. "Are you sure? I don't mind waiting, but the next one is in fifteen minutes."

  
"I'm sure," Sirius grinned.

  
"Having a good time, huh?" Remus smirked.

  
"Meh, it's _okay_ , I suppose." Sirius’ tone was casual and light.

  
"Please," Remus scoffed, his smirk only widening, "you're having the time of your life."

  
Sirius raised their eyebrows and shot Remus a smirk of their own. "Oh?"

  
"Mhm, didn't you?" Remus asked seriously.

  
"Of course I did," Sirius smiled, fingers tightening around Remus’.

  
  
Forty more minutes and three more trains had passed and they were still sitting together, Sirius' hand still in Remus' and Remus still smiling every time their eyes met.

  
"What about you? Were you born here?" Remus had explained how he had moved to England from Scotland just before secondary started. His dad had left, and his mum had decided to leave him with his grandmother, who had tried her best to raise him despite her declining health. She had passed away long ago, but even before that he had cared for her much more than the reverse, and he was still overcoming the bitterness of his excessive independence and having basically raised himself with no one to rely on.

  
It had been a lonely childhood, and he had been forced to mature very quickly, and thus hadn’t had many friends or been able to understand the seemingly petty cares of his classmates. Remus had been the odd one out for so long, but he could feel it in Sirius too, had felt it when Sirius walked through the shop door, and he could feel that small sliver of loneliness inside them both closing as their fingers closed around each other.

  
"Ah, hm, I was born here actually. My family are all from Vietnam and my dad's side is French, but they all went to Oxford so it became like a 'tradition' and they all decided to stay here when they finished instead of going back." Sirius explained.

  
"But you don't go to Oxford?" Remus asked puzzled.

  
"One of the reasons why I got disowned." Sirius shrugged casually, "My parents, my mum mainly, didn't accept the fact that I wouldn't go to _their_ school and carry on tradition and whatnot. So by the time I was 17, I had finished all my A levels, so come Open Day and applying for universities and all, my mum goes 'have you applied yet?' And obviously I'm confused and ask her what she's talking about and she says 'Oxford, of course, you have applied right, Sirius?'" Sirius uses a high, aristocratic voice, imitating their mother, and Remus’ eyes narrow, his attention rapt.

  
"And had you?"

  
"No, of course I hadn't. I would've gotten in, mind you, James and I had the highest marks, but we had decided to stay in London way before and I didn't expect it to be such a big deal. But I guess it was just the final straw." Sirius’ voice cracked on the last word, and Remus rubbed his thumb in small circles against Sirius’ hand, leaning their shoulders together.

  
“Right, that’s - I’m sorry.” At Remus’ quiet, gentle words, Sirius took a deep breath and leaned into his shoulder.

  
“It’s okay. It was… It was better when I left anyways.” Sirius smiled warmly at Remus, then let their head drop onto his shoulder.

  
“Then I’m glad you did.” Remus whispered, letting his head drop onto Sirius’ and smiling at the strands of hair that blew gently onto his face. _This moment_ , Remus thought fervently, a warmth coiling inside him at the pressure of Sirius’ fingers around his and the weight of their head on his shoulder and their quiet breaths and head beneath his.

  
“The last train to Edgware Road will arrive in two minutes. Please be aware of pickpockets and care for your personal belongings. Thank you for using TFL.” The robotic voice from earlier echoed quietly through the empty platform.

  
Their sighs were in synch, and they chuckled before lifting their heads away slowly. Sirius pulled their phone out of their pocket and clicked the home button before yelping “Quarter to one already? How?”

  
“Time flies when you’re having fun.” Remus murmured absently, gazing down at their joined hands.

  
“Did… did _you_ have a good time?” Sirius asked, biting their lip.

  
“The best time.” Remus nodded firmly, and Sirius beamed, squeezing their hands together. Remus stood up, pulling Sirius with him. Sirius stood an entire head shorter than Remus, and Remus felt a rush of affection as they peered up at him through dark lashes. Hesitantly, Sirius pulled their fingers from his, and Remus’ heart hadn’t had time to sink when Sirius wrapped their arms around Remus’ neck.

  
His heart sped, thudding in his chest as both their cheeks reddened. He placed his own arms around Sirius’ waist, and the platforms clicked as the wind rushed past them. Remus leaned forward slowly, his eyes gazing into Sirius’, then he gently pressed a kiss to the side of Sirius’ cheek. It was a crackle of electricity racing across his skin, crackling through his heart, and everything was heat and warmth and _fireworks_ between them. The tracks were rumbling louder, and Sirius flushed a rosy shade of pink, so Remus leaned forward again, pressing their foreheads together.

  
Sirius let out a shaky breath, warm on Remus’ face, and his pulse was racing and everything seemed to narrow to Sirius, to their hands clasped behind his neck and their warm waist beneath his arms and their fluttering eyelids and flushed face and gentle, bright eyes. There was a blur of sound and colour as the train rushed behind Sirius’, sending loose strands of their hair brushing onto Remus’ face as he tilted his head to kiss the tip of Sirius’ nose lightly. They swayed for a moment, arms around each other, foreheads pressed together, hearts thudding in their chests and faces flushed and, for just a moment, completely at peace, whole and complete.

  
Then the doors slid open, and Sirius’ hands loosened around Remus’ neck. Sirius’ eyes dropped to his lips, then darted back up again, and Remus felt a throb in his chest as Sirius eyes fluttered closed, then open, and he leaned forward, his breathing loud in his ears. Sirius’ lips were a breath away from Remus’, and Remus could see every one of Sirius’ light dusting of freckles. Then Sirius’ eyes snapped open at the chime of the doors, and Remus dropped his hands from their waist as if burned, his face still hot but his entire body feeling cold as Sirius stepped back.

  
“I - I have to… Thank you.” Sirius smiled, and Remus felt a wave of contentment, of fondness and appreciation and _warmth_ , because he knew, even now, that that smile could tide him through the greyest days, through every hardship and every quiet, lonely moment, through every tragedy and loss.

  
Then the doors beeped and Sirius ran inside, the doors sliding shut behind them. Even as they turned to wave, grabbing onto a railing near the door, the train was rushing away with a loud rumble, and Remus caught a glimpse of wide grey eyes and a faint smile before the train had thundered away and Sirius was lost from sight.  
He raised a hand slowly to his mouth, feeling dazed as he shuddered in the chilly blast of air the train had left behind. He felt like he’d been cold and alone and empty and then he had been warm and complete and whole. And Sirius had been kind and funny and beautiful and charming and _warm_. He dropped his hand, dimly aware that he was walking home, vaguely noting the chill of the light breeze as he walked home, his footsteps echoing in the empty, sleepy streets.

  
His flat was cheap, the windows loose and the heating barely rising from the vents, the wooden floors icy in the morning and the air frigid at night. Remus raised a hand absently to his face again, his chest searing with memories of arms around his neck and warm breath against his face and flushed cheeks and shiny crimson lips and a beaming smile. The chilly flat faded away, and he knew Sirius, even just in memories, would keep him warm through the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for supporting our writing! You can find us on tumblr as croatoanmary and trippywolfstar, we welcome writing prompts!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so very much for reading, we love all of you. You can find us on tumblr as [ croatoanmary ](http://croatoanmary.tumblr.com/) and [ blowpipesbites](http://blowpipesbites.tumblr.com/), we welcome writing prompts!


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